AN ANALYSIS

Hokitika Guardian, 19 January 1937, Page 4

AN ANALYSIS

OF INCOME SPENDING. Per Press Association Copyright. AUCKLAND, January 18. Interesting figures as to the percentage of income spent on food, clothing, education, recreation, and other items by variouy groups in the population, obtained m an investigation into the standard of life of, New Zealanders, were given in a paper to the > * economics, statistics, and social sciences section of the Science Congress by Mr AV. T. Doig, research economist to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Income inequalities in New Zealand, though not so glaring as in older coun- I tries, were much more marked than was generally believed. According to an analysis of the 1926 census, he less than one-tenth of the adult population received an income of £7 a week or more, yet they shared nearly onethird of the total income received by adults. It appeared from the figures for 1935 that th£ great majority of wage-earners received less, than £5 a week. Outstanding facts from the examination of 206 unemployed, 221 tradesmen and labourers, and 106 professional families were that larger families at lower wage rates spent a higher proportion of theii income on food and housing, while more was spent on education, medical expenses, holidays, recreation, and insurance, as income increased.